Board of Directors

Scott Pritchard, President of Transplant Transportation Services, Inc., lives in Petaluma with his wife Jennifer and two school age children. Scott has spent his career in the aviation industry working for well known air charter companies with roles in operations, sales, strategy and management. In 2008 he started TTSI. Scott is heavily involved in his community volunteering his time on education related boards, in youth mentoring programs and with the local police department. Scott enjoys time with his family, the coast, martial arts, gardening and reading.

Lisa is the Executive Director of the John Jordan Foundation, prior to this position she was Chief Executive Officer of the Sonoma County Alliance for seven years, the Alliance is a coalition of business, agriculture, labor and individuals organized to protect private property rights, to encourage a healthy economy, to maintain a sound environment, and to promote a responsive political process. Lisa worked with organizations such as the SCOE, the Sonoma County EDB and the Business Consortium of Executive Directors to promote economic development in Sonoma County. Lisa is also President of the H-Town youth Theater, sits on the boards of the Sonoma County Fair and United Way of the Wine Country.

Lisa Schaffner was born and raised in Healdsburg, California. She graduated from California State University Sacramento in 1991 with degrees in Government and Journalism.

In 1999 Lisa was elected to Healdsburg City Council. She was Vice-Mayor from December 2002 until December 2003 and again in 2007. She became Mayor of Healdsburg in December of 2003 and again in December 2007, retiring from Council at the end of 2008. In 2010, Lisa as appointed to the Council to serve out an existing vacant term.

Dale is active in his community and served on the board of Tomorrow’s Leaders Today before joining the Social Advocates for Youth board. He lives in Santa Rosa with his wife and step-children and is currently working on his law degree at Empire College School of Law.

Stuart Crandall is Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Hutchinson Capital Management where his responsibilities include portfolio management, new client development, and serving on the Investment Committee. He has over 12 years of investment experience in the areas of portfolio management, wealth management, and financial planning, and is a Certified Financial Planner™. Stuart’s knowledge base in personalized financial planning and investment management enables him to understand the unique wealth management needs of high net worth individuals and business owners. Stuart resides in Santa Rosa with his wife Kate and their two children, Will and Lucy.

Jeff Ahlers initially joined La Tortilla Factory as a Board Member in 2013 and was immediately captivated by the company’s values and culture. A year later, he accepted the opportunity to take on the role of President and CEO.

Jeff has worked in the food industry for over 30 years, embracing an entrepreneurial approach to cultivate business success and build strong relationships. Jeff and his wife, Kelly, have been active with many non-profit organizations over the years including Courage Worldwide and locally in fostering youth and adoption advocacy. Jeff enjoys spending time with his family and keeping fit. He has two grown sons, three young children and one grandson.

Matt Brewer was born and raised in Sonoma County, and graduated from Sonoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. Matt is a certified public accountant and works for Pisenti & Brinker where he is a manager in taxation and assurance services. Matt provides corporate, partnership and individual tax planning and compliance services and oversees audit, review and compilation engagements. Matt married the love of his life, Chloe, in 2010. When he is not working and volunteering, he keeps busy raising his three children.

KristineBurk

Law Office of Kristine Burk

Kristine Burk is a licensed attorney with over twenty years of experience as a criminal defense trial lawyer. She has proudly spent nearly half of her career as a public defender and was most recently a Chief Deputy Public Defender at the Sonoma County Public Defender’s Office. Kristine received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Women’s Studies from UCLA and her Juris Doctorate from University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She has long had interests in social justice, gender equity and community organizing. She is a devoted parent of two busy children and, when she’s not keeping score on the sidelines of one of her daughters’ sporting events, she enjoys cooking, Giants baseball and listening to podcasts of all types.

Ty is approaching his 19th anniversary with Jackson Family Enterprises, and currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He is responsible for all aspects of finance, IT, human resources, and international businesses for the Jackson Family. During his tenure, Ty had the opportunity to help shape the company as it is configured today, including executive leadership, corporate treasury and financing, general accounting and process improvements, mergers and acquisition, strategic vision, and information systems and technology. Prior to joining the Jackson Family, Ty spent ten years in general and financial management with Core-Mark International. A graduate of The Ohio State University, he is married and has a daughter in college.

Mike is Vice President with Firma Design Group, a planning, engineering and landscape architecture firm based in Petaluma, California. Mike attended California State Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo, California for his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree (2001). He volunteers his time in many different ways and believes in making Santa Rosa/Petaluma and the North Bay an attractive place for doing business, and believes that Social Advocates for Youth is an essential part of creating a knowledgeable, involved and active generation of our high school students. Mike enjoys playing golf when he’s not working, has two young daughters and lives in Santa Rosa with his family.

Gerard Giudice is the owner of Sally Tomatoes Catering and Event Company in Rohnert Park. Born in the Bronx, Gerard is proud to call Rohnert Park home, and is a proud member of the Rohnert Park Cotati Rotary Club and the Rohnert Park Planning Commission. He also serves as a board member for the Sonoma State Athletic Association. Gerard is married to Suzanne Knauer-Giudice and has two inspiring daughters, Katarina, 2 and Isabella, 18.

Uriah is a Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Santa Rosa. He specializes in working with adolescents and families, offering individual, family and group counseling. He has a background working with at-risk youth in residential treatment facilities in Sonoma County. He writes a parenting blog and monthly newsletter and also offers educational parenting events both locally and online. Uriah is married and has two beautiful daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys backpacking and playing the drums.

Dr James T Henley is married to his lovely and supportive wife Karen of 31 years (Owner and trainer Oakridge Ranch teaching Classical Dressage English Riding discipline) and has two beautiful daughters Ali and Toni. He is blessed with four wonderful grandchildren Zachery-17 star basketball player, Tawney-15 accomplished dressage rider, Tyler-12 star soccer player, and little JT (Jessica Taylor) 5 adept at staying busy.

JT has and will always believe that it is important to give back to his community. He remembers that “it takes a village” to raise children to be successful and contributors to society.

ChrisHonigsberg

Deputy District Attorney

Chris Honigsberg is a prosecutor with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. He is assigned to the domestic violence/sexual assault unit where he handles cases of physical and sexual abuse of children.

Chris has consistently worked with youth and the young adult population. In high school, Chris volunteered with homeless children, in college and law school he volunteered in elementary school classrooms and taught high school students about the law. After law school, Chris was a volunteer big brother with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Chris is married and has two young daughters. Chris enjoys running, cooking and reading nonfiction books, especially books about the Kennedy’s.

Karissa Kruse is President of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, a marketing and educational organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Sonoma County as one of the world’s premier grape growing regions. In her role as President, Karissa has guided the strategy and implementation of Sonoma County’s commitment to become America’s first 100% certified sustainable wine region. In an effort to continue to lead in the social responsibility component of sustainability, Karissa announced the relaunch of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation in January 2016 that aims to assist local agricultural employees and their families in the areas of healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, education and workforce development. She is a partner in a small winery, Argot Wines, and the owner of a 12-acre vineyard on Sonoma Mountain.

Karissa earned a BS in Economics and an MBA in Marketing from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She has 20 years of experience in various aspects of marketing, brand management, strategic planning and business development, and has previously worked for companies such as General Mills, Universal Studios, Mattel and Dairy Management.

Ray Navarro is a Police Captain with the Santa Rosa Police Department. Ray has a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Sonoma State University. His experience includes working with gang impacted youth while assigned to the department’s Gang Crimes Team. He also worked with several non-profit organizations as a member of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force for three years. He is a certified instructor for a gang prevention program and works with local school districts to reach youth at a young age. Ray and his wife have been married for 25 years and have a son and daughter. Ray and his family are also active in their church here in Santa Rosa.

Troy Niday is Chief Operations Officer for Sonoma Media Investments, LLC publisher of the Press Democrat and other Sonoma County publications and websites. He oversees all aspects of audience development, consumer revenue generation, production and distribution for the organization. A native Nebraskan, Troy worked at four other media companies before bringing his expertise to Sonoma County in 2014. He resides near the town of Freestone with his wife Pam; they have two children in their early 20s, and enjoy traveling together.

AustinNotley

Austin Notley is a native Santa Rosan with family roots going back for generations. He is an alumni of Maria Carrillo High School, where he discovered a passion for drama, stagecraft and peer counseling. Austin is currently a student at the SRJC and is pursuing his B.A. in United States History. Austin loves being active in his community – whether it is through participation in the school board or by his active involvement with the local student population directly.

Steve was brought up in the bay area, Los Altos, where he met his wife Georgia in high school. Steve went to UC Santa Barbara and graduated with BAs in Business Economics and Political Science. Steve and Georgia have 2 children and now are empty nesters. Steve is a past President of Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary, North Coast Hobos and is active in many civic organizations. Steve is the President of Interiors Incorporated, a firm he started 26 years ago. In his free time he enjoys travel, fishing, skiing and hiking in the great outdoors.

Honorary Board of Directors

Marcus Benedetti

Ernie Carpenter

Bob Casanova

Connie Codding

Jayne Cohill

Matthew Davis

Nancy Fastenau

Bill Friedman

Hon. Gayle Guynup

Kevin Konicek

Kay Marquet

John Meislahn

Steve Page

Brian Purtill

District Attorney Jill Ravitch

Hon. Arnold Rosenfield

Willie Tamayo

Linda Tavis

Vic Trione

Supervisor Shirlee Zane

About SAY

We began over 45 years ago with a mission to keep teens out of jail and off the streets. Today, we provide housing, counseling and career services to youth and families throughout Sonoma County.

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